Range Description

True's beaked whales appear to have a disjunct, anti-tropical distribution (Mead 1989, MacLeod et al. 2006). In the Northern Hemisphere, they are known only in the North Atlantic, from records in eastern North America (Nova Scotia to Florida), Bermuda, Europe to the Canary Islands, the Bay of Biscay, and the Azores. They also occur at least in the southern Indian Ocean, from South Africa, Madagascar, southern Australia and the Atlantic coast of Brazil (MacLeod et al. 2006). The species does not generally occur within 30° north or south of the equator, which may indicate that the northern and the southern subpopulations are isolated from one another. This is supported by morphological and coloration differences (Ross 1969, Ross 1984).